Osteoporosis is associated with increased risk for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a nationwide...

Recent evidence has indicated that osteoporosis is a risk factor for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This large population-based study demonstrated that patients with osteoporosis had a 1.82-fold higher risk of developing BPPV than those without osteoporosis through the use of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most frequent causes of vertigo. Osteoporosis reflects a homeostatic imbalance in the rate of bone turnover, with the rate of bone resorption exceeding that of bone formation. Recent evidence has indicated that osteoporosis is a risk factor for BPPV. We aimed to validate the risk of BPPV in osteoporotic patients through a nationwide, population-based, cohort study.

Patients treated for osteoporosis were identified from entries made in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 2000 and 2013. Each osteoporosis patient was age- and sex-matched with four randomly selected subjects without osteoporosis. We compared the incidence rates of BPPV in the two cohorts (with and without osteoporosis) and identified risk factors.

We identified 6649 osteoporosis patients and 26,596 match controls. According to the incidence of BPPV among the two groups, patients with osteoporosis were found to have a 1.82-fold higher risk of developing BPPV than those without osteoporosis. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) between osteoporotic patients and the control cohort was 2.0 (p < 0.001).

This large population-based study demonstrated that patients with osteoporosis were associated with an increased risk for BPPV. The results of this study provide some insight into the management of BPPV.